Centrifugal machine.



No. 636,616.. Patented det. 3|, |899. A. T. wELcH. CNTHIFUGAL'MACHINE. (Application led Jam 21, i899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

ABRAHAM T. WELCH, OF BALTIMOE, MARYLAND.

CENT'RIFUGAL MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent N0. 636,016,r dated October 31, 1899.

Application filed January 21, 1899. Serial No. 702,905. (No model.)

To all whom t Wawy concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM T. WELCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Centrifugal Machines for Separating Water from Matt-er, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to a centrifugal machine to be employed instead of a press for separating water from animal matter, cooked iish, garbage, and the like.

This invention is designed for separating water from various kinds of matter, and particularly those kinds of matter wherein the proportion of moisture in different parts of the bulk varies considerably.

In a large bulk of matter, such as fish scrap, which is usually piled up, the variation in proportions of moisture from the top of the pile to the bottom is very great, the moisture draining from the top to the bottom, where it is greatest. It will therefore be seen that if matter from such a pile is fed into the machine and allowed to pass through without regulating or controlling the discharge differentparts of the discharged matter would still varyin the proportion of moisture contained.

One objectof the invention, therefore, is to provide the discharge-opening with adjustable means for regulating the discharge from the revoluble drum.

The invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a vertical sectional elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine on the line 2 2 looking from the left toward the right. through the discharge-opening on the line 3 3. Fig. 4E shows a detail of ring-head.

Two vertical plates A B constitute opposite sides of the machine, and a close cylinder C is held and clamped securely between said plates by means of bolts d, extending from one plate to the other in a circle around the outside of the cylinder. A gasket e is confined at each end of the cylinder and between said ends and the vertical side plates, and this gasket makes a water-tight joint.. A pipe f in Aone h.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section.

lis being fed down the hopper m.

the bottom of the cylinder serves for draining oft `the water that accumulates. A revoluble shaft F has bearings g g in the two vertical plates and carries a preferablyv tapered circular drum G, whose wall is composed of two shells or thicknesses h h' of woven wire, the inner one hbeing of closer mesh than the outer These two perforated shells are smaller at the entrance end than they are at the discharge end, and each end has a ringvhead or wheel I I', whose hubs are secured fast to the shaft-F. Each ring-head in the present instance has a rim which on the outside is V-shaped, and this rim takes into a circular groove i, formed on the inner surface of each vertical plate. The two perforated or wire shells t thave their ends secured to the ring-heads by a hoop at each end and rivets. A hoop surrounds the end of the shell,

and the end is bent back and over the outside of the hoop, the bent part forming a sort of hook, and then the bent end and hoop areinserted into the ring-head I, and rivets k are passed through the bent part, also through the hoopj, and through the rim of the ring-head.,

The vertical plate B has a circular neck Z,

'which constitutes the opening, being of a size corresponding to the small end of the drum G, and a feeding-in hopper m connects with Ithe said neck. ported in the neck by a spider or stationary 4cross-arms n, one of which is shown in cross- The shaft-bearing g" is supsection. Each cross-arm has a blade n attached. The revoluble ring-head or wheel I ters is such that their bladeso pass the stationary blades n in manner to act like a shear and cut any material that may be passing yinto the drum Gr. Theinner side of each crossarm 0 is beveled or oblique, as at p, (shown in the section in Fig. 1,) 'and the eifect of this shape is that each of said cross-arms operates to draw into the drum the material that This construction of the entrance to the perforated revoluble drum insures that the material from which water is to be separated, whatever it may be--scrap, animal matter, cooked fish,

IOO

or garbage-will be cut and also at the same time drawn into the centrifugal drum G.

The extremity of the shaft F within the eircular entrance or neck l has an arm q fixed on the shaft. This arm is revolved in the neck and acts on the material and serves as a stirrer-blade to loosen and agitate the material that is passing from the hopper through the neck, and thus prepares it for passing the rotary cutters.

The ring-head or wheel l' at the large or discharge end has cross-arms r, which connect the V-shaped rim with the hub s, and said ring-head or wheel revolves with the shaft F. These cross-arms r on the outer side are beV- eled or oblique, as at t, (shown in Fig. 1,) and the purpose of this form is to aid in the discharge of the material from the centrifugal drum through the opening u when the sliding door e in the vertical plate A is open or partly open.

A shield or deilector w is bolted to the vertical plate A over the discharge-opening u, and said opening is controlled by the sliding door u, which latter is held in place by the defieetor. One side w of the deiector is free from-bolts to permit the door o to be opened by sliding side wise. The sliding door c at one end carries an ear fr with a screw-threaded hole, and the threaded part of a screw Qc passes through said hole. The ends of the screw which are not threaded have bearing to revolve in the sides of the dcfleetor, and said screw is provided with collars fr? and 003, which take against the outer surfaces of said sides and prevent the screw when it is turned from advancing. It is obvious that upon the revolution of the screw in the ear @a the door c will travel or slide crosswise of the opening u.

A pulley y is mounted on the end of the shaft F, by which rotary motion is 'imparted to the drum G.

The operation of the device is as follows: The wet matter to be treated is fed into the hopper m. The arm q,revolvin g with the shaft, loosens and agitates the material and prevents the circular entrance l from becoming clogged up and also tends to push the matter between the stationary cross-arms n, having the cutterblades n', toward the receiving end of the drum. The shaft F, ring-heads I I, carrying the cross-arms o and cutters o', and drum G at this time will be revolving at a high rate of speed-say about from twelve to fifteen hundred revolutions per minutethe cutters 0 passing the stationary blades n in a manner to act as shears, and the material passing from the hopper into the drum will thereby be cut into fine particles. The drum G at its small end receives the cut matter, and the centrifugal action due to the high revolution of the drum presses the material against the perforated Walls h of the drum and the water separates from the material and passes through the perforatons into the cylinder O.

The drum G is tapered and is smallest at the receiving end and largest at the discharge end. Hence in the operation the material is gradually' worked down theinclined walls of the drum toward the discharge end and if the discharge-opening u is closed will bank up in the drum and become level with the receiving end. The sliding door o will be open more or less, according to the proportion of water or moisture in the material that is being treated. If the material is very wet, the door will be set so as to leave but a small opening. If it is not so wet, a larger opening will be left. The smaller the opening the longer time the material will be retained in the drum. When the material at the discharge end of the drum has been sufficiently freed from moisture, it Will discharge through the opening u. As the cross-arms r on the ring-head I" are beveled, as at t, they will aid in discharging the material from the drum through the opening u. rlhe operation is continuous.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a perforated drum revoluble in a vertical plane; a feeding-in hopper opening into one end of the drum; a stationary vertical plate closing the opposite end of the drum and said plate provided with an adjustable discharge-opening; and a close cylinder surrounding the drum to catch the water thrown from the latter,

2. The combination of a perforated drum, revoluble in a vertical stationary plane; two vertical plates one at each end of the drumone having a feed-in opening communicating with the small end of the drum and the other plate at the large end having a dischargeopening; and a sliding door that may be adjusted to increase or lessen the dischargeopening.

3. The combination of a perforated tapered drum, revoluble in a vertical plane; two vertical plates one at each end of the drumone having a feed-in opening comm unicating with the small end of the drum, and the other plate at the large end having a discharge-opening; stationary cross-arms in the feed-in opening each having a blade; cross-arms at the small or entrance end of the drum-each arm carrying a blade which coacts as a shear to cut the material entering the drum.

4. The combination of a shaft and perforated drum carried by the shaft; a feed-in neck communicating with the entrance end of the drum; stationary cross-arms in the feed-in neck; an arm fixed on the end of said shaft on the entrance side of said stationary cross-arms and revoluble in the said feed-in neck.

5. A centrifugal machine operating continuously having in combination a perforated tapered revoluble drum having an entrance end provided with cross-arms and blades- IOO the inner side of each Gross-arm being bev- In testimony whereof I affix my signature eled or oblique to aid in drawing the material in the presence of tWo Witnesses. y

into the drum' a stationary vertical plate at A v the large end of the Cylinder provided with a ABRAHAM T' WELCH' discharge-opening, and means at the dis- Witnesses: charge-opening to regulate and control the CHARLES B. MANN, Jr., discharges from the drum. GEO. KOETHER. 

